Little League, Almonte feel impact of age saga

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. 
The box score that shows Danny Almonte pitched a perfect game at the Little League World Series is tucked in a binder atop a metal filing cabinet.

Otherwise, that game in 2001 never officially happened - at least not after Almonte was proven to be 14, too old to play Little League ball.

A decade later, the repercussions of that big-league-level scandal still resonate through Little League, where birth certificates might now be tracked as closely as balls and strikes.

As for the youngsters at the time, Almonte lives in New York, playing in an adult league and working at a restaurant, his former high school coach there said. And the group of then-pre-teens from central Pennsylvania he helped beat have moved on to get college degrees and start careers.

The 65th annual World Series begins Thursday here at Lamade Stadium, painted dark green with a steep grassy hill above the outfield, a picturesque venue for a tournament in which organizers preach sportsmanship and fair play. But with ESPN cameras capturing every pint-sized player's every move, a standout performance can turn a participant into a Little League celebrity.

So it was with Almonte, who helped carry his team from New York City to the World Series in 2001. The hard-throwing lefty with a 70-mph slider tossed a perfect game and struck out 16 in a 5-0 shutout of Apopka, Fla. He then pitched a one-hit shutout, clocking pitches at 77 mph, before his team was eliminated in a rematch against Florida in the U.S. championship game .

But the drama was only beginning.

Days later, Little League said Almonte was under investigation after officials were shown a document by a Sports Illustrated writer indicating Almonte was born in 1987 in the Dominican Republic, which would have made him 14. His team had a document that showed Almonte was 12, or born two years later, in the same country. At the time, Little League rules prohibited any player born before Aug. 1, 1988, from competing.

The investigation drew international attention, and even President George W. Bush's administration intervened to ask the Dominican government to investigate. Records experts determined the birth certificate saying he was 12 was falsified and Almonte was actually 14. His team's founder, Rolando Paulino, and Almonte's father were banned from Little League for life. Little League disqualified the team and Almonte.

"I hope he's doing OK. I really do. I always felt he was as much victimized as anybody," Little League president Stephen Keener said in his office overlooking the field where Almonte tossed his perfect game.

"He's the one that's going to have to deal with, `Oh, you're Danny Almonte.' It's a bit unfair to him, too."

Paulino's league is affiliated with Cal Ripken baseball, another youth sports organization, its website shows. Messages left for league officials were not returned. Efforts to reach Almonte through Turo were unsuccessful, and a phone number for him could not immediately be found.

Almonte, now 24, went on to become a star pitcher at James Monroe High School in the Bronx, a powerhouse program in New York. Monroe coach Mike Turo called Almonte one of the five best players he's coached in three-plus decades.